Kindred fined record $3 million

Kindred Healthcare has been hit with a $3 million-plus penalty for failing to adhere to a federal corporate compliance program.

The Office of Inspector General announced the fine after it found that Kindred had failed to correct improper billing practices in the fourth year of a five-year corporate integrity agreement.

Auditors discovered that the company and some predecessors continued to overbill in 2013, 2014 and 2015 for hospice and other services, federal officials said. They announced the $3.07 million penalty, a record for such CIA infractions, on Sept. 20.

The OIG noted that in 2016 Kindred has taken “significant corrective actions, including upgrading internal audits and investigations.”

In the aftermath of the federal audits, Kindred said it would close 18 sites it called “underperforming” since March 2015.